Criminal Laws

A Criminal law governs crimes, including felonies and misdemeanors. Crimes are generally referred to as offenses against the state. The standard of proof for crimes is beyond a reasonable doubt. For information on particular crimes or issues surrounding the criminal law, please select from one of the topics below.

Criminal law in India means offenses against the state, it includes felonies and misdemeanors. The standard of proof for crimes is beyond a reasonable doubt. Criminal law is governed by Indian penal Code, Crpc, evicence Act etc.

A body of rules and statutes that defines conduct prohibited by the government because it threatens and harms public safety and welfare and that establishes punishment to be imposed for the commission of such acts.

The term criminal law means crimes that may establish punishments. In contrast, Criminal Procedure describes the process through which the criminal laws are enforced. For example, the law prohibiting murder is a substantive criminal law. The manner in which government enforces this substantive law through the gathering of evidence and prosecution is generally considered a procedural matter.

Crimes are usually categorized as felonies or misdemeanors based on their nature and the maximum punishment that can be imposed. A felony involves serious misconduct that is punishable by death or by imprisonment for more than one year. Most state criminal laws subdivide felonies into different classes with varying degrees of punishment. Crimes that do not amount to felonies are misdemeanors or violations. A misdemeanor is misconduct for which the law prescribes punishment of no more than one year in prison. Lesser offenses, such as traffic and parking infractions, are often called violations and are considered a part of criminal law.

Criminal laws in India are structured to maintain public order, protect individual rights, and deter unlawful activities through a framework that defines offenses and prescribes punishments. The core of Indian criminal law is divided into substantive and procedural laws. The substantive law primarily includes the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, which categorizes crimes such as theft, assault, fraud, and murder, establishing definitions and penalties for each offense. Procedural aspects are governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, which outlines procedures for investigation, trial, and appeal, ensuring a fair justice process.

India also enforces several special criminal laws, such as the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, The Prevention of Corruption Act, and The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, each addressing specific areas of crime. Additionally, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, regulates the admissibility and evaluation of evidence in court proceedings.

Criminal laws in India are continuously evolving, adapting to societal changes, and addressing emerging issues like cybercrime, terrorism, and human trafficking. Judicial interpretations and landmark judgments play a significant role in shaping criminal jurisprudence, safeguarding individual rights, and maintaining a balance between law enforcement and personal freedoms. These laws uphold India’s commitment to justice and equality, reflecting its constitutional values.

First Information Report (FIR):
The first information report means an information recorded by a police officer on duty given either by the aggrieved person or any other person to the commission of an alleged offence.
Who can File an FIR?
Where to File an FIR?
Why FIR should be filed promptly
Is there time duration fixed for Filing an FIR?

Supreme Court Guidelines on FIR
Supreme Court has given Directions to be followed in regards to Registration of an FIR, these directions are discussed

Rights of Arrested Person: One of the basic tenets of our legal system is the benefit of the presumption of innocence of the accused till he is found guilty at the end of a trial on legal evidence

Circumstantial Evidence:
Circumstantial evidence is used in criminal courts to decide the fate of accused by establishing guilt or innocence through reasoning. According to Benthem witnesses are the eyes and ears of justice. But testimony of witnesses is not always credible; therefore, facts are provable not only by witnesses but also by circumstances.

In words of Stephen Leacock
My evidence for this assertion is all indirect, it’s what we call circumstantial evidence the same the people are hang for. Giving the importance of circumstantial evidence in criminal cases and discussing the present role of circumstantial evidence, in nailing the two most leading cases, of Manu Sharma and Santosh Kumar, the same evidence that the trial court had dismissed as being insufficient or inadequate for conviction. Although it seems self-evident, that meaning of evidence must be articulated first, before the next steps in the analytical process may be pursued.

Historical Background of Circumstantial Evidence
Circumstantial evidence is not considered to be proof that something happened but it is often useful as a guide for further investigation. An example from genealogy would be that if census records showed several people with the same surname lived at the same address, likely relationships could be inferred from age and gender. Circumstantial evidence is used in criminal courts to establish guilt or innocence through reasoning. They also play an important role in civil courts to establish or or deny liability

Analysis of the term Evidence
Evidence is the raw material which a judge or adjudicator uses to reach findings of fact. The findings of fact that the evidence generates are - for all their flaws - what happened for all intents and purposes of the legal proceeding. If you do not agree with the fact-finding that has been made (or even if you know it to be wrong), recognize that the rules of evidence are the best rules that law know of to reach the necessary goal of fact-finding

In its original sense the word evidence signifies, the state of being evident i.e. plain, apparent or notorious. But. It is applied to that which tends to render evidence or generate proof. The fact sought to be proved is called the principal fact; the fact which tends to establish it, the evidentiary fact.

Law of Evidence:

1. Evidential Value of Private Reports in Court of Law

2. Dying Declaration-Section 32(1) of Indian Evidence Act

3. Confession under Indian Evidence Act

4. FIR: Indian Evidence Act, 1872

5. Hostile Witnesses and Efficacy of Law

6. Experts Opinion and its admissibility and relevancy - Law of Evidence

7. How a Defendant Grand Jury Testimony Can Be Used at Trial

8. Non-Examination of Investigation officer: Its Consequences

9. Criminal Trial Important Points

10. Relevancy and Admissibility under Indian Evidence Act

11. Evidentiary Value of FIR

12. Accomplice Witness and its admissibility as Evidence

13. Law of Evidence:
    S.45 of Law of Evidence has been lacking in various aspects. Neither it is according to contemporary needs nor it has been made so to suit the present day need.

Criminal Justice System

Rights of Arrestee: Arrest is taking away certain rights of a person by the poce authority, who is apprehended for some danger or threat to the society.

Defences Against Culpable Homicide: The expression ‘self defence’, strictly speaking would imply only the defense of the person that is why the Code uses the expression ‘private defence’ which covers the defense of person as well as property.

Indian System of Bail: he concept of bail, which is an integral part of the criminal jurisprudence, also suffers from the above stated drawbacks.

Decriminalization of consensual sex between adults: The Delhi High Court dismissed the Petition in 2004 holding that the question was merely academic and there did not lay a cause of action.

Superior of the superiors: It actually discusses the cause of the crimes that occurs and its solution, with a human right perspective.

Honour Killing: Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family.

Law of Adultery in India: The law of adultery as it stands in India punishes only man, and assumes that in all cases man is the seducer and the women, who is an equal participant

Legitimacy of Adultery Laws in India: the various aspects of Adultery Laws existing in India, which, on analysis would be found to be in want of amendment or change

Confiscation and Forfeiture of Property: The draft posted is on the code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1973 is Forfeiture and confiscation of property. The chapter in the code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1973.

Intoxication as a Defence: There is general agreement that causing another person's death with deliberate intent is culpable as one of the most serious offences.

Legalizing Abortion: Legalizing abortion in India is a serious topic as our law and sociological condition is concern. Abortion is now a controversial issue because of the conflict of the rights.

Status of Jails In Punjab: The Indian prisons are no better for the reason that economic conditions do not permit to.

Section 498 IPC: the constitutional validity of the section 498-A with references to cases likeInder Raj Malik and others vs. Mrs. Sumita Malik and Wazir Chand vs. State of Haryana

Motive Preparation and Previous or Subsequent Conduct: complete understanding about the relevance of motive, preparation and conduct from evidence point of .

Retrospective Operations of Criminal Law: The great myth of being protected by retrospective laws, especially criminal law is clearly analyzed and examined

Prison Reforms In Indian Prison System: All men are born equal and are endowed by their creator with some basic rights. These rights are mainly right to life

Accomplice Evidence in Sexual offenses: In sexual crimes, the other person usually the woman may or may not be an accomplice, according as she is, by the nature of the crime, a victim of it or a voluntary partner in it.

Media and Child Protection: With the increasing competition among the different newspapers and news channels at times rights of children are infringed. Recently the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

Privilege In Matrimonial Communication and Abuse of Its Sanctity:
Privileged communications exist because society values the privacy or purpose of certain relationships

International Criminal Court and Universal jurisdiction: Background of the emergence and jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, assesses its significance

Capital Punishment: Revisiting the Abolition-Retention Debate: The Indian jurisprudence is a blend of reformative and deterrent theories. While the punishments are to be

Laws Governing Extradition: .Abu Salem's extradition: Extradition may be briefly described as the surrender of an alleged or convicted criminal by one State to another

Crimes and Punishments In Iranian Legal System: The legality principle protects individual security by ensuring basic individual liberties against the arbitrary and unwarranted

185th Report of the Law Commission of India:
Unable to consider its 69th Report, the Central Government re-entrusted the task of reviewing the Indian Evidence Act, 1872

Rights of Victims under Criminal Justice System: The victims rights rests on a kind of social contract theory, perhaps captured in the preamble to Louisianas 1985 victims rights legislation

Criminal cartel offences in United Kingdom: A cartel is basically, a union of producers, distributors, sellers, service providers or traders, who by contracts between

Treatment And Protection of Witnesses In India: Witness protection program and witness protection laws are simply the need of the hour

Victims of Trafficking: Trafficking in human beings is a global phenomenon, which has gained

What will u do when police is coming to arrest you: situation of person while police come to arrest him

Prevention of Corruption Act: Corruption is considered to be one of the greatest impediments on the way towards progress for developing country like India

Res Gestae: It is to know the concept of Res Gestae, to know as to what are the transactions which are admissible under this doctrine

Juvenile Justice-A Comparative Study with U.K: The minors were exempted from the punishments and the fines because there had

Criminal Jurisprudence

1. The Fugitive offenders Bill
2. Duty of The Public Prosecutor In The Criminal Justice System
3. Role of Judiciary in Protecting the Rights of Prisoners
4. Who can adjudicate the Enrica Lexie incident
5. Double Jeopardy in India
6. Components of Legal System
7. Mercy Petition Boon or Bane
8. Nature and Scope of Plea Bargaining
9. Intention an Integral Part of Crime
10. Criminology
11. Victims, victimization and Victimology
12. White collar crime and its changing dimensions in India
13. Feminist Criminology And Integrated Theory
14. License to kill: An Hour for Amendment
15. De-Criminalisation of politics
16. Nothing Honourable in Honour Killing
17. Applicability of the M
18. Deterrent effect of Punishment
19. Plea Bargaining in Indian Legal System
20. Crime and Violence need an Analysis
21. Compensation: A Ray of Hope
22. Framing of a Law or Enforcement of a Law
23. The Elements and Stages of a Crime
24. Reformation Would Reduce Pressure
25. Is rope an answer for crime?
26. Plea-Bargaining: Present Status in India
27. Mens Rea in Statutory Offences
28. Controversies on Euthanasia